Prince George’s County Man Pleads Guilty to Armed Robbery

Greenbelt, Maryland - Today, Zebedee Alexander Johnson, 35, of Clinton, Maryland, pled guilty to the armed robbery of a Clinton convenience store.

Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the plea with Acting Special Agent in Charge Amanda M. Koldjeski, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) - Baltimore Field Office, and Chief Malik Aziz, Prince George's County Police Department (PGPD).

According to the guilty plea, on April 29, 2022, Johnson and four others traveled to a Clinton convenience store, where they pointed a firearm at a store employee and ordered him to lie down. They then used a circular saw to break open the store's ATM and take trays containing approximately $35,020 in U.S. currency. At the time of the armed robbery, Johnson was on federal supervised release in connection with a 2018 conviction for a drug-distribution offense. Johnson admitted that he violated the supervised-release terms, which prohibits committing any new crimes, by committing the armed robbery.

Johnson faces a minimum mandatory sentence of five years and a maximum of life in federal prison, followed by up to five years of supervised release, for this offense. He also faces a maximum sentence of two years for violating his supervised release. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge determines sentencing after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang scheduled sentencing for September 4, at 9:30 a.m.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the FBI and PGPD for their work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua Rosenthal and William Moomau who are prosecuting the case.

For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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